Institutions and businesses using dispensers of rolled sheet material products in commercial settings depend upon the dispenser to reliably dispense sheet material until the sheet material is depleted. One desirable type of dispenser in such a setting is a “hands free” dispenser. Such a dispenser permits a user to grasp a tail of a sheet material extending from an exit port in the dispenser and to withdraw the sheet of material for use. In this manner, a user is not required to touch the dispenser. When the sheet material in such a dispenser becomes bunched up and jammed within the dispenser, the dispensing mechanism is unable to adequately dispense sheet material to a user, and dispensing failure occurs. Although some dispensers have a rotational device to allow users to dispense such bunched or jammed sheet material, the dispenser must be touched by the user to activate the rotational devise and obtain a sheet of material. This action defeats the purpose of the “hands-free” dispenser, where a user may keep his/her hands free of contamination by avoiding touching a dispenser.
It would be desirable to have an apparatus which prevented bunching, jamming and/or dispensing failure of rolled sheet material in a “hands-free”-type dispenser. Such a device would desirably be simple, but it would also be effective in guiding the sheet material from a roll in an even, aligned and measured manner into and through the dispensing mechanism. Further, such an apparatus would desirably prevent the sheet material from moving transversely from one side to the other within a dispenser housing. Such an apparatus would allow sheet material from a new, full roll of sheet material product as well as from a partially or nearly depleted roll of sheet material product to be dispensed reliably from the dispenser without bunching, jamming and/or dispensing failure.